Dead animals found in a Banks Peninsula reservoir may mean residents in Akaroa and Takamatua may have to boil their water for weeks.Christchurch City Council said several small dead animals were found in the reservoir on Tuesday…

A gas explosion destroyed a supermarket building in Vladikavkaz, a city in southern Russia, on Friday morning, local officials said.

Russian news agencies reported that no one was appeared to be wounded in the blast.

A man who was inside the building at the time of the explosion was rescued from under the rubble and didn't sustain any injuries, the state Tass news agency reported.

According to Tass, the explosion occurred early in the morning in a three-story building housing a supermarket, as well as several shops and offices. Media reports said a gas leak was the likely cause.

The blast completely destroyed the building and shattered windows in several residential buildings close by.

Russia's Investigative Committee has opened a preliminary inquiry into the incident.

Officers smashed their way into an stolen school bus at a north Queensland KFC car park in extraordinary new bodycam footage, the sort of police takedown normally reserved for Hollywood.

The footage, shown for the first time in a Queensland courtroom today, captured police running to the bus with weapons drawn in December 2019.

"Get! Get out of the f—— car now! Get out of the f—— car," officers yell as the sound of their metal batons smash against the glass windows.

"Had my foot run over but I'm all good," another says at the scene.

Blow after blow after blow, tasers out, batons still smashing the glass, until officers managed to break through the driver's side window.

The driver, Bradley Paul McNamara, pleaded guilty to the 50km joy ride from Giru, to a Townsville KFC on December 11, 2019, as he appeared at court today.

Locked up ever since the incident, McNamara is eligible for parole some 428 days after he was put behind bars.

The UK economy suffered its biggest slump on record in 2020, with GDP falling by 9.9 per cent over the course of the year.

That means the COVID-19 pandemic has effectively wiped out all growth in the United Kingdom over the past seven years, returning the UK economy to the size it was in 2013.

There were some signs of improvement in the final months of 2020, with GDP estimated to have increased by one per cent in the fourth quarter, following record growth in the third.

READ MORE: UK variant of coronavirus could become dominant strain

But there were big swings in output over the course of the October-December period, largely tracking the level of restrictions imposed to contain the coronavirus.

The scale of the annual drop in GDP last year means the UK has suffered more than many other major economies.

Germany, for example, held up better in the pandemic than it did during the global financial crisis.

Provisional estimates suggest Europe's biggest economy contracted by five per cent last year.

READ MORE: UK to start hotel quarantine this month amid criticism of delay

The US fared even better by comparison, with GDP decreasing by 3.5 per cent from the prior year.

A new national lockdown in the United Kingdom, imposed on January 5, is expected to hit the economy hard in the first quarter of 2021.

Disruption to EU-UK trade following the end of the Brexit transition period on December 31 is also expected to weigh on activity.

Both Coles and Woolworths have reinstated purchase limits in Victoria amid fears of a rise in panic buying ahead of the state's snap five-day lockdown.

Despite Victorian residents still being allowed to buy groceries – and essentials such as toilet paper – during the lockdown, preliminary reports suggest shelves in some regions have already been stripped bare.

Both supermarkets have said there is no issue with the supply of products and the purchase limits are to manage demand for customers in-store.

READ MORE: Panic buying frenzy begins in Victoria after lockdown announced

LIVE UPDATES: Victorians react to snap five-day lockdown

Shoppers will only be allowed to buy one pack of toilet paper at Coles, and two at Woolworths.

A full list of limits for both supermarkets can be found below.

"We have plenty of stock to draw on from our suppliers and distribution centres and our team will be hard at work making sure it flows into our stores in large volumes over the coming days," said Woolworths Victoria Assistant State Manager, John Di Tirro.

"We encourage Victorian to be mindful of others in the community and to continue shopping as they usually would."

READ MORE: Victoria's 'circuit breaker' lockdown explained: What you can and can't do

https://twitter.com/woolworths/status/1360093439988142081

Coles Chief Operations Officer Matt Swindells said the health and safety of customers and team members remains Coles' top priority.

"We have well-established safety protocols in Victoria based on what we have learned from COVID restrictions implemented in other states. Taking these immediate and additional safety measures will protect and ensure our customers and team members can feel safe in our stores," he said.

"We have also increased the number of team members in stores and expanded our Coles Online capacity to help serve customers quickly and safely during this busy time."

READ MORE: Australian Open to go ahead without crowds

https://twitter.com/Mad_Morris/status/1360066753913495560

COLES PURCHASE LIMITS FOR VICTORIANS:

Two packs per customer:

·         Toilet Paper

. Paper Towels

. Fresh white milk

·         Chilled pasta

·         Liquid soaps

·         Poultry thighs

·         Poultry breasts

·         Mince

·         Burgers

·         Frozen Vegetables

·         Sausages

·         Frozen Chips

·         Pasta

·         Flour

·         Rice

·         Pre-packed seafood

·         Sugar

·         Eggs

WOOLWORTHS PURCHASE LIMITS FOR VICTORIANS:

Two items per customer, per shop:

·         Antibacterial wipes

·         Canned fish

·         Canned tomatoes

·         Canned legumes

·         Canned vegetables

·         Flour

·         Frozen chips, including gems and wedges

·         Frozen desserts

·         Frozen fruit

·         Frozen vegetables

·         Longlife milk

·         Longlife specialty milk

·         Liquid handwash

·         Noodles

·         Pasta

·         Paper towels

·         Rice

·         Sugar

·         Tissues

·         Toilet paper

·         Bread loaves (including in-store)

·         Chilled pasta

·         Eggs

·         Fresh milk (excluding flavoured)

·         Meat

·         Burgers, rissoles, meatballs

·         Mince (fixed weight only)

·         Sausages

·         2 packs beef

·         2 packs chicken

·         2 packs lamb

·         2 packs pork

Two kilogram limits on the following:

·         Meat from the Butcher

·         Poultry from the Deli

·         Smallgoods from the Deli

You can get up-to-date information from the Federal Government's Coronavirus Australia app, available on the App Store, Google Play and the Government's WhatsApp channel.

Beyond Blue's Coronavirus Mental Wellbeing Support Service is a 24/7 service free of charge to all Australians. Visit the site here or call 1800512348

For coronavirus breaking news alerts and livestreams straight to your smartphone sign up to the 9News app and set notifications to on at the App Store or Google Play.

Victorians have been urged to refrain from 'panic buying' as lockdown restrictions come into effect from midnight tonight.

However, some shoppers wasted no time stripping essential items from supermarket shelves, including toilet paper.

Vision shared online captured bare shelves at a Melbourne Woolworths as dozens rushed to the store to snap up supplies.

LIVE UPDATES: Victoria lockdown restrictions explained, states close borders

AUSTRALIAN OPEN: What five-day lockdown means for the grand slam

Premier Daniel Andrews today pleaded for Victorians to use "common sense" and reiterated supermarkets would not close.

"You are allowed to go and shop," he said.

"Supplies are adequate. There is no need to be doing any of that.

'You just put pressure on some of the hardest workers, some of the best Victorians, the people who are there driving the trucks from the distribution centre to the supermarket, the people who are stacking the shelves'

"Let's not make their job harder by hoarding six months' worth of toilet paper."

Supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths have reinstated product limits in Victoria both in-store and online as a "precaution" to prevent panic buying.

BORDER CLOSURES: Latest details here

https://twitter.com/woolworths/status/1360086610130268161

The limits include grocery items in high-demand including toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, pasta, meat and other staple supplies.

"We encourage Victorian to be mindful of others in the community and to continue shopping as they usually would," Woolworths Victoria Assistant State Manager, John Di Tirro said.

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